| Time zone |  | UTC+8 |
| Total area | | 329,847 km² (2006) |
| Capital | | Kuala Lumpur (2009) |
| Currency | | ringgits (MYR) (2009) |
| Government type | | constitutional monarchy (2009) |
| Languages | | Bahasa Malaysia (official), English, Chinese (Cantonese, Mandarin, Hokkien, Hakka, Hainan, Foochow), Tamil, Telugu, Malayalam, Panjabi, Thai |
| Religions | | Muslim 60.4%, Buddhist 19.2%, Christian 9.1%, Hindu 6.3%, Confucianism, Taoism, other traditional Chinese religions 2.6%, other or unknown 1.5%, none 0.8% (2000 census) |
| Total population | | 27.76 million (2009 forecast) |
| Urban population as % of total population | | 68% (2006) |
| Population median age | | 25.0 years (2006) |
| Population growth rate | | 1.80% (2006) |
| Life expectancy | | 74 years (2007) |
| Adult literacy | | 92% (2000/2007) |
| % of population living on less than $2 a day | | 7.80% (2008) |
| Inequality of wealth distribution (Gini index) | | 49.2 (2007) (0=perfect equality, 100=absolute inequality) |
| Freedom House rating | | Political Rights: 4 (1 represents the most free, 7 the least free) |
| Total telephone subscribers as % of population | | 104.23% (2007) (sum of fixed telephone lines and mobile cellular subscribers) |
| Internet users as % of total population | | 55.67% (2007) |
| Cost of living - Mercer index (ranking by city on a basis of 143; the 1st is the most expensive and the 143rd is the least expensive; New York is the base city) | | New York - Index: 100 (Base) Kuala Lumpur: 106th - Index: 75 (2008) |
| CO2 emissions | | 7.0494 (2004) (metric tons of CO2 per capita) |
ECONOMIC INFORMATION| Central bank | | Central Bank of Malaysia (2009) | ||||||||||||||||
| Reserves of foreign exchange and gold | | $104.4 billion (31 December 2008 est.) | ||||||||||||||||
| GDP | | 180,714 millions of US dollars (2007) | ||||||||||||||||
| GDP (Purchasing Power Parity) | | 355,225 millions of International dollars (2007) | ||||||||||||||||
| Real GDP growth | |
2009: -3.50% (forecast) | ||||||||||||||||
| GDP per capita - current prices | | $6,956.41 (2007) | ||||||||||||||||
| GDP per capita - PPP | | $13,385.13 International Dollars (2007) | ||||||||||||||||
| GDP (PPP) - share of world total | | 0.53% (2008) | ||||||||||||||||
| GDP - composition by sector | |
| ||||||||||||||||
| Gross domestic expenditure on R&D (% of GDP) | | 0.60% (2004) | ||||||||||||||||
| Inflation | | 2006: 3.59% 2007: 2.106% | ||||||||||||||||
| Unemployment rate | | 3.7% (2008 est.) | ||||||||||||||||
| Household saving rates | | - | ||||||||||||||||
| Public debt (% of GDP) | | - | ||||||||||||||||
| Sovereign bond ratings | | Standard & Poor's: A-/Stable/A-2 Moody's rating: A3 Moody's outlook: STA (Foreign Currency, March 2009) | ||||||||||||||||
| Market value of publicly traded shares | | US$325.7 billion (31 December 2007) | ||||||||||||||||
| Largest companies in Malaysia | | Maybank, Sime Darby, Tenaga Nasional, Public Bank, Bumiputra-Commerce (2009) | ||||||||||||||||
| FT top 50 banks in the world by market value 2009 | |
DATA ON TRADE AND COMPETITIVENESS| Current account balance | | US$ 31.77 billion (2008) |
| Share of the world export | | - |
| Shares in world total merchandising export | | 1.26% (2007) |
| Shares in world total commercial services export | | 0.86% (2007) |
| Total exports | | US$195.7 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.) |
| Export commodities | | electronic equipment, petroleum and liquefied natural gas, wood and wood products, palm oil, rubber, textiles, chemicals |
| Total imports | | US$156.2 billion f.o.b. (2008 est.) |
| Import commodities | | electronics, machinery, petroleum products, plastics, vehicles, iron and steel products, chemicals |
| Exports - major partners | | US 15.6%, Singapore 14.6%, Japan 9.1%, China 8.8%, Thailand 5%, Hong Kong 4.6% (2007) |
| Imports - major partners | | Japan 13%, China 12.9%, Singapore 11.5%, US 10.8%, Taiwan 5.7%, Thailand 5.3%, South Korea 4.9%, Germany 4.6%, Indonesia 4.2% (2007) |
| Inward FDI flows by host economy | | US$8,403.1 million (2007) |
| Value of cross-border M&A, by country of purchaser | | US$4,783.158 million (2007) |
| Cross-border M&A deals worth over $3 billion completed in 2007 (Acquiring company, Acquired company, Country of the acquired company, Value of the deal) | | - (Acquiring company, Acquired company, Country of the acquired company, value of the deal) |
Best countries for doing business (ranking by country on a basis of 181, the first is the best) | | Overall ranking: 20(2009) Subcategories: Starting a business: 75(2009) Employing workers: 48(2009) Registering property: 81(2009) Getting credit: 1(2009) Protecting investors: 4(2009) Trading across border: 29(2009) |
| Global competitiveness ranking | | 21 (2008/2009) |
| Economic freedom index (ranking by country; the first is the best) | | 64.59(2009) (100=totally free 0=totally repressed ) |
GLOBAL FINANCE RANKINGS AND AWARDSTOP 200 EMERGING MARKET BANKS 2008
- Malayan Banking Berhad (2008)
- CIMB Bank Berhad (2008)
- Public Bank Berhad (2008)
- RHB Bank Berhad (2008)
- Hong Leong Bank (2008)
- HSBC Bank Malaysia (2008)
WORLD'S BEST FOREIGN EXCHANGE BANKS
2009:
- COUNTRY WINNERS Maybank (National, 2009)
2008:
- COUNTRY WINNERS Maybank (National, 2008)
WORLD'S BEST TRADE FINANCE PROVIDERS
2009:
- COUNTRY WINNERS Maybank (National, 2009)
2008:
- COUNTRY WINNERS Maybank (National, 2008)
WORLD'S BEST INTERNET BANKS
2008:
- COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Consumer Internet Banks Citi (2008)
- COUNTRY WINNERS / Best Corporate/Institutional Internet Banks Standard Chartered (2008)
WORLD'S BEST ISLAMIC FINANCE INSTITUTIONS
2009:
- REGIONAL WINNERS CIMB Islamic Bank (Asia, 2009)
- COUNTRY WINNERS CIMB Islamic Bank (National, 2009)
2008:
- COUNTRY WINNERS CIMB Islamic Bank (National, 2008)
- REGIONAL WINNERS CIMB Islamic (Asia, 2008)
WORLD'S BEST EMERGING MARKET BANKS
2008:
- COUNTRY WINNERS Maybank (National, 2008)
WORLD'S BEST SUB CUSTODIANS
2008:
- COUNTRY WINNERS Maybank (National, 2008)
ARTICLES AND COUNTRIES REPORTS FROM GLOBAL FINANCE ARCHIVEsource : Global Finance
